Driving Lessons
by Dixie Darlin
Summary: Hiro decides to take Aunt Cass's car out for a spin to prove he can drive. Tadashi is not amused. Pre-movie


_There's no spoilers in this that I know of. Also, I don't know how their parents died, so I'm going with the cliche "car accident"._

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><p><span><strong>Driving Lessons<strong>

"I don't see what's so hard about this," Hiro said out loud as he cruised the car down one of the many back streets around his aunt's cafe. He had both hands on the steering wheel since he didn't yet have enough arm strength to only use one hand like a cool guy with sunshades and slicked back hair might do. "All I did was read a manual and watch a few videos. And _you_ thought I couldn't do it."

He swiveled his head to his left to face out the window only to be met with the enraged face of his sixteen-year-old brother who was flanking the car on his teal bicycle. His mouth was forming words but Hiro couldn't hear over the music he had cranked up.

"What's that?" he said smartly with a smirk, slowing down a little more even though he was already going under the speed limit as it was. "I can't hear you!"

If looks could kill, Tadashi would be murdering him right now. He kept screaming at the window only to receive no answer beyond a rather irritating smug look; Hiro knew he was driving Tadashi's last nerve, and he was enjoying every second of it. Tadashi allowed one hand to come up so he could make a repeated downwards gesture with his pointer finger as if he were pressing a button.

"Oh, you want me to roll down the window? Why didn't you just say so?"

Hiro at last did what he brother wanted him to do but still did not put on the brakes. Tadashi nearly crashed into the car, using his left hand to steer his bike and keeping the other on the window rim. He resisted the urge to grab his kid brother by the jacket and yank him out right then and there.

"What do you think you're doing, you knucklehead!" the older boy yelled at him as he continued to pedal alongside the moving vehicle. "Aunt Cass is gonna kill us both when she sees her car's missing and finds out _why_! And turn that music down!"

"It's called borrowing since I'm giving it back," Hiro corrected him dryly, though he did turn the radio's volume down a few notches. "You're just jealous because I'm already driving better than you did when you started learning last summer!"

"At least I didn't have to sit on, what, five phonebooks to see over the dash or use boards tied to my shoes to reach the pedals!"

"Four." Hiro directed an unamused pout at him. "And I bet I wouldn't fail my test twice like _someone_ I know."

_"_Hiro!"

"I bet I could do this with rocket boosters strapped to the back too!" He got that impish look in his eye that Tadashi knew well. "I might try that next time."

_"Hiro!" _Tadashi's voice had an impatient tone to it, much like their aunt used at times. Probably like how their dad used too, not that Hiro would know anything about that. "There will be no 'next time'! Pull this car over and stop _now_!"

The younger sibling rolled his large eyes and instead turned the wheel to the left to take them around a curve. Tadashi had to let go of the car momentarily so he could steer his bike in the same direction, pumping his legs to gain a little speed.

"You know, for a genius, you're a real bonehead!"

"You know, your face gets red like a tomato when you're mad."

"Real clever, smart guy!" he shot back as he avoided a near collision with a trash can. "You've had your fun, now let me in there so I can drive us home!"

Hiro screwed his face up as he pretended to consider his words. "Hmm...nah."

"_Hiro!"_

"Admit I'm a better beginning driver than you!"

"What?"

"You heard me!"

If Tadashi could give himself a facepalm, he would have. "Fine! You're better at driving than me, you win! Now pull over!"

Hiro chuckled as he began rolling his window back up. "I never said I'd let you in if you admitted anything."

"Hiro, what are you...hey!"

"Like I'm gonna let the worse driver take me home!" the boy called out right before the window closed fully. He sped up enough to where Tadashi was trailing behind him, and he could see that he was now having to pedal even harder to keep up. "So stubborn. And he calls _me_ a bonehead."

If it weren't for the cat running out across the street, Hiro would've kept up his accident-free streak. He panicked though, yelling in shock, and made the amateur mistake of turning the wheel to dodge the animal instead of slamming on the brakes. The car headed straight into an alley, not getting too far before it crashed into a large trash bin, smoke coming from the engine. The airbags went off, thankfully blocking the boy from flying out the now busted windshield.

**"HIRO!"**

Tadashi's panicked yell was the first thing he heard other than his own coughs and he pushed the deflated airbag away from him. The phonebooks he had been using as a boost were now sliding underneath him and making him sit lopsided. He barely had time to unsnap his seatbelt before Tadashi threw open the door, his eyes wide as he looked his little brother over.

"Oh, thank God, you numbskull, you could've been killed!"

He wasn't angry, though he was shouting; no, his voice was laced with fear and relief mixed together. He helped Hiro get out of the car, took the boards that were strapped to his shoes off, and even half-carried him a few feet away from the smoking car.

"You're not hurt, are you?" he kept asking, concern written all over his face as he glanced Hiro over while checking for bruises or cuts. "You get glass in your eyes? Are you dizzy? Nauseous?"

"Tadashi, I'm fine," Hiro answered him, a little annoyed at the barrage of questions, though deep down he was grateful that Tadashi was around. "Stupid cat ran in front of-"

He was silenced when he found himself being squished into a hug, his face buried against his brother's chest. Tadashi held him still for what felt like an eternity, and Hiro could feel his heart hammering against his ear. He got embarrassed at this sudden display of affection and wormed his arms up to shove his brother off of him.

"Dude, I'm fine, knock it off," he insisted, running both hands through his hair to make more messy than it already was.

Tadashi had his hand over his face, rubbing his thumb and pointer against his eyes. Was he crying? "Sorry, I just-" He sighed and wiped his hands over the front of his shirt. "You scared me that's all."

Hiro stuffed his hands in his jacket, looking down at his untied shoes. Freaking his brother out was never part of the plan. Not to this extent anyway. "Sorry," he muttered under his breath.

"Yeah, you're darn right, you're sorry." Tadashi blew his breath out, rubbing his cheek as he looked back at the totaled car. "What got into you, huh?" he asked, his voice still shaky. "You trying to get yourself killed?"

"No!" Hiro snapped at him though he didn't mean to. "I just...I just wanted to drive, that's all."

"Oh, that's all? So it wasn't just you being a little snot and trying to prove something?"

Hiro shrugged his arms up and looked away from him, not wanting to answer that.

"Look, bro, I know you know get bored sometimes, but that's no reason to endanger your life, okay?" Tadashi kept preaching at him. "You make straight A's in school, you have a whole life ahead of you, and you occupy your time pulling ridiculous stunts."

"Leave me alone," Hiro muttered angrily, turning to go onto the sidewalk and head home. He didn't get far when he got pulled back by his hoodie, a trick Tadashi always used on him yet for some reason he never saw it coming. "Hey, let go!"

Two hands spinned him around and Tadashi's eyes met his, silencing him for the time being. "Hiro," he said calmly yet firmly, "I love you. You hear me? I love you and I don't want you hurting yourself, or worse."

"You sound like a dad," Hiro remarked in embarrassment, hating it when Tadashi treated him like this.

"Well maybe I should sound like one more often. This could've been really bad, Hiro. You could've ended up-"

"What?_ Dead_?"

The word made Tadashi shudder all over, enough to where Hiro could feel it through the hands that were still planted on his shoulders. Hiro's stomach sank, regretful he'd said it. Tadashi was the one who remembered their parents after all.

"Sorry..."

Tadashi set his jaw and nodded once, giving Hiro a little pat on the back as he straightened up. "Let's just go home."

He strolled over to his bike that had been thrown to the ground in his hurry to get to the car earlier. He picked it upright, Hiro coming up behind him in the meantime.

"I didn't mean it, Tadashi," he said quietly, his palms coming together as if to plead forgiveness. "I was just bored and wanted to have some fun."

Tadashi smiled crookedly yet it had a tinge of sadness to it. "I know," he said while ruffling Hiro's hair with one hand, the younger boy letting out a squeal of protest. "Don't scare me like that again, okay? I can't...I can't lose you too," he said in small voice.

Hiro swallowed thickly before nodding, not saying anything. He tagged after his brother as he walked his bike to the sidewalk. Tadashi's face was so stoic that it made him look so much older than he was. It only made Hiro feel worse about what he'd done.

"Do we have to go home?" he asked out loud, hating the silence between them. "Aunt Cass is really gonna kill us. Mostly me, but probably you too."

"Unfortunately, yeah, unless you want to live like a street urchin." Tadashi gave him a playful smirk. "I oughta ride the bike home and make you chase me the whole time for payback."

"Ha ha," he dryly laughed, ducking to avoid Tadashi lightly smacking the back of his head. He'd rather _this_ than have Tadashi in a funk all night though.

"I wouldn't leave you, don't worry," the older boy promised him with a true smile this time. "You're stuck with me forever."

"Oh joy." Hiro blew his breath out as they walked, looking up at the sky to see the first signs of stars. "You think our parents see us from up there."

Tadashi didn't answer at first but he finally said, "Yeah, I'm sure they do. And they probably want you to wait until your my age to learn how to drive too."

"Aww, come on!" Hiro laughed, shoving on Tadashi's shoulder as he laughed too. "Well, come to think of it, you won't need to teach me how by that time since I'm _already_ better than you."

"You're unbelievable, you know that?"


End file.
